Ayra's POV
It's evening now. I'm sitting on the sofa. Kim, Jean, Ace, Dave, and Ross are also here at our house. Falcon is in the kitchen getting some drinks.
They have the audacity to invite me to this kind of drinking session as if Falcon and I are not having any issues. To show him that I'm not affected by his presence, I just went along. I won't be drinking though. I'm just sitting here quietly, annoyed by their chatter.
"Hey, no fooling around!" Jean scolds them.
"Hey, you're the noisy one! My wife is about to give birth!" I rolled my eyes at Ross's antics.
"Honey, I'm about to give birth!" Dave pretends, struggling to speak.
Damn, they're all crazy.
"Honey, I'll call the doctor!" Ross panics, not knowing what to do. "Doctor Kim! My wife! My wife!"
They're like children.
"Knock it off, Ross!" Kim threatens playfully with a clenched fist. Clearly, she doesn't want to join the two in their silliness.
"You guys have no concern for my wife. I'll remember this day!" Ross wipes his eyes as if he's crying.
"What's wrong with you?!" Ace exclaims, disturbed by the two's behavior.
I reach under the sofa and take out a box. I opened it and retrieve a dagger.
"Waaaahhh! Doctor Kim!"
"Stop, please! Stop!"
They need some discipline when they're together. It's time to quiet them down.
Without hesitation, I throw the dagger at them. I'm still careful about it.
"Shit!"
"Damn!"
"Wahhh!"
"Ayra!"
"Oh, fuck!"
"Come on, Ayra!"
"Ayra, do you want to kill us?" Ross asks dramatically. He tries to hug me, but I dodge, causing his face to hit the sofa.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Just a hug, Ayra!" He makes a loud smacking sound.
Sure, he want a hug.
I rolled my eyes.
"I can kill you, Ross," I say casually.
I see his face scrunch up, but I don't care.
"What's that expression, bro? You're losing, huh? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Dave laughs, teasingly.
"You guys are so noisy," Falcon comments emotionlessly, holding a bottle of alcohol.
I was about to lie down on the sofa when my cellphone rings. I manage to get everyone's attention.
Dark calling...
"What now?" I ask irritably.
They're all listening to me, curious about who I'm talking to.
"No traitor within the organization because they attacked our hideout directly."
"What's the group's name?" I calmly inquire.
"I don't know, but their only goal is to kill you. Nothing else."
"Tell Butler Min to increase security. I can't go."
"Butler Min's men have suffered a lot already."
"Ugh, more problems. Find out who their boss is. Even if you capture a subordinate, we can make them talk. And also, once you find the person who killed Jeramine, let me know."
"Copy, Cancer."
I end the call. I notice puzzled looks on their faces, except for Falcon, who knows what's happening.
"Falcon, are you going to your hideout?" I ask him without looking into his eyes.
I don't know if he's still taking care of his group. It feels like he's just eavesdropping on the conversation.
"No, but I'm getting updates about your hideout. The news is spreading quickly."
"That's the Crionine family," I quickly reply. "They're recruiting members and stealing money from the company."
And they owe me.
"What a confusing conversation you're having," Ross chimes in, shifting his gaze between us.
He can't participate in this kind of talk because of his foolishness.
"Your lives would be easier if you knew more, so better shut up. I'm not a hero who's always there when needed," I state seriously.
They nod, looking confused.
"Okay! Let's party!" Kim exclaims.
"Party, my foot. You're on your own!" Dave retorts.
"Crazy."
"Ugly."
"Crazy!"
"Ugly!"
"Crazy!"
"Ugly!"
I've had enough.
"Still not done?" I ask. They all turn their attention to the gun I'm holding.
"A-Ayra, where did you get that gun?" Dave's nervousness is clear.
Everyone is shocked to see me holding a gun except Falcon and Ace. Ace isn't surprised because he's seen me like this before.
"Hey, watch out, you might shoot me!"
They start saying all sorts of things, so I decide to hide the gun. I just found it under the sofa anyway.
"Let's start," Ace says, taking a seat in front of the small table.
They each grab a bottle of alcohol and start drinking, except for me. They pause mid-sip when they notice I'm not drinking.
"I thought you were a heavy drinker. Why don't you give it a try?" Jean asks, holding a bottle of alcohol.
I know they're just teasing. Even though I don't feel like drinking, I still went along with their wishes.
One.
Drink.
Two.
Drink.
Three.
Drink.
Four.
Drink.
Five.
Drin—
"You do know the difference between drinking and sipping, Ayra, right?" Kim points out.
"That's how I drink," I retort irritably.
They exchange puzzled glances and ignore me. I really don't want to drink because once I start, I can't stop. After a while, I know they're already drunk. I'm feeling dizzy myself.
"Let's play truth or dare!" Ross suggests, waving his hands excitedly.
I raise an eyebrow. "What's truth or dare? D means death and T is?"
They all scrunch up their faces. "It's truth or dare, Ayra," Dave explains. "Dare means you have to do a challenge, and truth means you have to answer a question honestly."
As they explain, I rolled my eyes.
"Game!" they all shout.
"You guys go ahead," I say and take another drink.
"Don't be a killjoy!"
"Come on, just this once!"
"Don't you like bonding? Let's go!"
I ignore them. I take a deep breath and sigh. I glance at the window behind me and the door in front of me. When I'm facing the window, I can see the door out of the corner of my eye. When I face the door, I can see the window.
"Please?"
I thought they were done pestering me, but apparently not.
After I looked outside, I smirked. "Let's start."
"Yes!"
"I'll spin the bottle," Dave volunteers and places the bottle on the table.
He spins it, and it points to Jean first.
"Ugh! Why me? Nooooo!" She playfully punches Dave.
"Come on, Jean! Why are you hitting me? My handsome face, wahhhhhhh!" He rubs his face as if he's been hurt.
"You aimed for it!"
"What do you mean?" we all ask simultaneously. Then we realize we're all thinking the same thing and burst into laughter.
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Ross tries to calm everyone down. Wow, he managed to intervene. I thought he only knew how to joke around. "I'll be the one asking the questions!" He turns to Jean. "Sis, truth or dare?"
"Dare."
Ross grins mischievously. "Kiss the part of Dave's body that you punched so he stops crying."
Everyone laughs. I knew it was just a prank.
"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"
"On the lips?! Are you serious?!" she protests.
"Just do it, Jean," I encourage her.
"Are you joining too, Ayra? I have no allies here? Seriously?"
"I'll count," I ignore her complaints. "One, two, three."
Jean kisses his half-pouted lips. She stands up, wiping her lips, while Dave pretends to be disgusted.
"Pft. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Bro, it's bad to suppress your feelings," Ace teases his friend with a mischievous smile.
"Shut up! You're the one who's killing the vibe," Dave retorts.
"HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Come on, Jean. Smack kiss! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Enough, seriously. Who's next?" Jean asks after wiping her lips.
"I'll spin the bottle," Kim volunteers, taking the bottle and spinning it.
It lands on Ross.
"I'll ask," Falcon chimes in immediately.
"Wow, looks like someone's holding a grudge, huh?" Ross jokes. "Okay, truth," he boasts.
"Who's your first kiss?"
Ross is taken aback and quickly becomes embarrassed. "Damn it, Bryx."
The guys burst into laughter at their friend's reaction.
"Just tell us, Ross!" Ace joins in.
"It's Rose," Ross admits. "My first kiss was Rose."
"Who's Rose?" Kim asks.
"Roseeeeeeeee?" the guys echo.
"It's Rose!" Ross shouts in frustration.
"Yeah, Rose?"
"Yeah, Rose, the gay guy with the minty breath! The one who hangs out on the corner!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Laughter fills the entire house.
"You, Ross, huh! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Dave teases.
"You stupíd, Dave. Shut up."
I take a deep breath as a gust of wind blows through. I can feel it because I'm near the window. They're here.
"I'll spin the bottle," I say to silence them.
"Are you sure?" Kim asks.
"Is there a problem?"
She shakes her head, so I spin the bottle. It lands on Kim.
"I'm unlucky," she comments. "Ayra, we're best friend. Best friend forever, right?"
"Yes," I confirmed. "Truth or dare?"
"Dare."
"Kiss Falcon in two minutes."
"Ayra," they threaten.
"Do you think I don't know what I'm doing? Go ahead," I tell them.
Falcon raises an eyebrow, giving me a disapproving look. Kim looks puzzled and unsure of what to do.
"Ayra," Kim says.
"It's just a dare. Go."
Kim faced Falcon. She hesitantly touched his neck. My eyes were fixed on them.
"Count one to three, guys," I instructed them, and they immediately complied.
"One."
I retrieved the gun I had hidden earlier.
"Two."
I aimed it.
"Three."
"Dead, the body fell to the floor," I said assertively after firing the shot.
They stared in shock at a man lying in the doorway, bleeding. The planned kiss between Kim and Bryx was interrupted because that was my intention all along. I deliberately positioned the bottle in front of Kim and instructed her to kiss Falcon to hide the gun.
This crazy man was going to shoot us. Luckily, I had an idea of what was going to happen since he was a Crionine henchman. It would be foolish to make a move.
"Who's that?"
"Your new guard?"
"Maybe a rider or delivery boy."
"Did you order something?"
"Maybe a neighbor asking for food."
"Idiots," I commented on their speculations.
"Why did you kill him? He might have needed something," Kim said.
I didn't respond because my cellphone rang.
Dark calling.
"What?"
"Fuck! Hitted!" the voice on the other end sounded busy. "Cancer, I'm outside your house. The Crionine attacked you. More are coming in. Just keep an eye on my assistant here."
"Shit," I muttered and ended the call. I pulled out the gun and signaled Falcon. "Stay here," I instructed my friends.
"Why?" they all asked with furrowed brows, confused.
"I'm going to engage in a gunfight. Are you coming with me?" I used my cold voice. "You know how to use a gun, Kim?"
I saw a man aiming a gun at us. Fortunately, I reacted faster. I didn't wait for Kim's response as I went out of the house.
As I stepped outside, I noticed several bodies on the ground. The guard and Dark had been busy. They were quick.
Falcon stepped out alongside me, and just as we were being shot at, we both took cover behind a tree. We wouldn't be heard by the neighbors since we were at the edge of the subdivision, near the woods.
I don't know how these guys managed to get in here.
While we exchanged gunfire, I saw Kim, Jean, Dave, and Ross come out of the house. They were trying to help us, but they didn't have guns. I looked for Ace and found him holding a gun that seemed to belong to Falcon.
Why were they getting involved? I can't reveal my identity as Cancer to them.
We were getting tired from all the shooting. I noticed a man sneaking up behind me, so I quickly aimed my gun at his forehead.
"Lower your gun," I ordered in a cold tone. He obeyed, and I subdued him, making him my captive.
As my friends watched, stunned, I gave them a cold smile.
"Why did you kill him? He might have just needed something," Kim said.
I ignored her as I answered the call on my cellphone.
"Tell to Butler Min clean about this," I ordered.
"Copy, Cancer."
I couldn't help but shout as a sudden headache hit me. "Damn it!"
Without a word, I went back inside.
"I'll talk to the guard," Falcon said.
I went to the kitchen and washed my face. I returned to the living room where everyone was still gathered.
"A
re you guys going home so I can take you to Butler Min?" I asked coldly.
"I'll stay here. I'm nervous," Jean said.
"There's a guest room upstairs."
Tears threatened to spill as I entered the room. I hadn't killed enough of the Crionine members! I was angry and frustrated, wanting to take their boss's life with my own hands!
He would pay for my brother's death.
To be continued...